When I was a teenager I remember reading a book by Billy Graham where he explained why the blood sacrifice of Jesus was necessary to give new and eternal life. He quoted Leviticus 17:11 --
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves ... it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
Like so many things God uses a physical reality to demonstrate a spiritual truth. As blood is necessary for us to live physically, blood would be necessary for us to live spiritually. And not just any blood, only the pure and perfect blood of Jesus Christ. Without this blood there can be no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). But the power of this blood goes beyond just forgiveness -- it also brings His goodness and abundant life, instead of His wrath against our sinfulness (Romans 5:9; Romans 8:32).
Today we rejoice because Beth is receiving new blood. A gift of grace and a miracle of mercy flowing from the greatest grace gift and most miraculous mercy ever -- the Cross. Here Jesus' physical life-blood removed the Father's wrath and replaced it with His goodness that now comes in many forms of His rich and sufficient grace. We celebrate the goodness of God in the form of 19 million new and healthy stem cells entering Beth's body to produce new, healthy, and leukemia-free blood cells. Life is indeed in the blood!
While nothing is greater than the salvation Christ purchased for us with His blood, we still praise God for His "lesser" graces (like a bone marrow transplant) that give Him glory and give us a foretaste of His eternal goodness. These foretastes remind us that the best is yet to come and victory is assured as we live by His blood-bought grace in a sin-stained world full of pain and suffering. While Beth's battle with leukemia is not over with today's transplant, we know and believe that there is "power, wonder-working power" in the blood!!
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Intense Treatment: Specific Prayer Requests
We've officially completed 2 days of intense treatment: total body irradiation and the start of chemotherapy. Thursday is the start of 4 days of very powerful drugs: 2 chemotherapy drugs and a transplant preparing drug. The side effects can be quite intense.
Prayer continues to be a source of strength and grace to us so we wanted to ask for some specific requests over the next several days:
Prayer continues to be a source of strength and grace to us so we wanted to ask for some specific requests over the next several days:
- Minimal side effects to these powerful treatments; specifically, no adverse reactions.
- For Beth to remain infection free.
- For no fevers (Beth has had a fever the past 2 days).
- For these treatments to be 100% effective in getting rid of her leukemia and bone marrow.
- For sleep & rest.
- For peace & comfort.
- For EVERYTHING regarding the donor process on December 27th and the transport of the marrow to NYC to go flawless.
- For an ABUNDANCE of donor stem cells to be collected (the more the merrier as they say :)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Transplant Process Begins
On Tuesday Beth is admitted to the hospital for bone marrow transplant. This begins a very critical phase in our battle with leukemia. We wanted to share some specific things and to ask for very specific prayers during this period of time.
During the first day Beth will receive one dose of "total body irradiation". This treatment jump starts the process of destroying her bone marrow and leukemia cells. Then for the next 4 days she receives chemotherapy which works to ensure all of her marrow and leukemia cells are wiped out. Both of these treatments are closely monitored and regulated because of Beth having Fanconi anemia which is the underlying cause of this leukemia. This is also why we are being treated in NYC at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, one of only 2 hospitals in America with experience and success in transplanting adult Fanconi patients.
On December 27th, the donor gives blood and marrow. Beth is due to receive it on either the 28th or the 29th. It takes 7-14 days for the marrow to "ingraft" and start producing healthy cells. There are four specific things that we need protection against: rejection of the donor's marrow, "Graft Versus Host Disease" (when the old blood & marrow fights the new marrow), infections (from bacteria, viruses, and fungi), and organ toxicity (this is the most unpredictable danger). The doctors do many things to prevent and reduce the odds of any of these 4 things happening, but we of course want to pray against them!
Lastly, we continue to learn so much about God's grace. It often comes in unexpected ways and sometimes we even miss it, but it is always there and always sufficient. Pray for us to see this grace, treasure it, and when possible to share it. One thing we have not missed is the grace that comes from our church family. How people could go through something like this without having a faith family makes us more burdened for the unchurched. Thank you Rock Bridge for being a source of God's grace to us!!
During the first day Beth will receive one dose of "total body irradiation". This treatment jump starts the process of destroying her bone marrow and leukemia cells. Then for the next 4 days she receives chemotherapy which works to ensure all of her marrow and leukemia cells are wiped out. Both of these treatments are closely monitored and regulated because of Beth having Fanconi anemia which is the underlying cause of this leukemia. This is also why we are being treated in NYC at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, one of only 2 hospitals in America with experience and success in transplanting adult Fanconi patients.
- Pray for the complete destruction of her marrow and leukemia cells. This is essential to helping her body receive the new marrow.
- Pray for the side effects of these powerful treatments to be minimal.
- Pray for her to stay free from infection. Her blood counts will be wiped out and staying infection free is a big goal.
- Pray for God's wisdom to work through the doctors.
On December 27th, the donor gives blood and marrow. Beth is due to receive it on either the 28th or the 29th. It takes 7-14 days for the marrow to "ingraft" and start producing healthy cells. There are four specific things that we need protection against: rejection of the donor's marrow, "Graft Versus Host Disease" (when the old blood & marrow fights the new marrow), infections (from bacteria, viruses, and fungi), and organ toxicity (this is the most unpredictable danger). The doctors do many things to prevent and reduce the odds of any of these 4 things happening, but we of course want to pray against them!
- Pray for the new marrow to ingraft and for new, healthy cells to be produced and for Beth to be completely healed!!
- Pray against marrow rejection & Graft Versus Host Disease.
- Pray for Beth to stay infection free.
- Pray for Beth's organs to stay healthy & strong ... pray against organ toxicity.
Lastly, we continue to learn so much about God's grace. It often comes in unexpected ways and sometimes we even miss it, but it is always there and always sufficient. Pray for us to see this grace, treasure it, and when possible to share it. One thing we have not missed is the grace that comes from our church family. How people could go through something like this without having a faith family makes us more burdened for the unchurched. Thank you Rock Bridge for being a source of God's grace to us!!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
My Assistant
Several years ago our elders counseled me to get an executive assistant to help manage my time better, keep me focused on the right things, and help things run smoothly. As is so often the case, their wisdom proved right.
For the past several years I was blessed to have Carla Bray serve as my assistant. She managed my schedule, helped with sermon props, coordinated our baptism celebrations, and developed a robust and incredibly effective pastoral care ministry.
Recently, Carla felt God nudging her out of vocational ministry and into a job that allowed her to be more flexible with her hours and more able to be with her family, especially her new grandson! God has opened such a door for Carla and she has officially left our staff, although she will still coordinate our baptism events. I can only say that her service to me, our church, and so many families going through tough times was nothing short of amazing and of God.
We have decided to take an unconventional approach for my next assistant. We have outsourced this role to a new company called "MAG" - Miles Advisory Group. My assistant lives in the Atlanta area and manages my schedule, contacts, meetings, and administrative functions through the internet and phone. This new approach takes advantage of technology and is a cost-effective approach to providing executive assistance to churches.
My new assistant's name is Betsy Burgis. Already her efficiency, professionalism, and love for the local church is evident. Betsy has the added challenge of helping me stay connected and "in the loop" while I spend a lot of time in NYC with Beth ... and it is working great.
Betsy's Contact information:
Email: betsy@rockbridge.cc
Office: 706-279-3175 (Rock Bridge central office)
Direct line: 706-489-9226
For the past several years I was blessed to have Carla Bray serve as my assistant. She managed my schedule, helped with sermon props, coordinated our baptism celebrations, and developed a robust and incredibly effective pastoral care ministry.
Recently, Carla felt God nudging her out of vocational ministry and into a job that allowed her to be more flexible with her hours and more able to be with her family, especially her new grandson! God has opened such a door for Carla and she has officially left our staff, although she will still coordinate our baptism events. I can only say that her service to me, our church, and so many families going through tough times was nothing short of amazing and of God.
We have decided to take an unconventional approach for my next assistant. We have outsourced this role to a new company called "MAG" - Miles Advisory Group. My assistant lives in the Atlanta area and manages my schedule, contacts, meetings, and administrative functions through the internet and phone. This new approach takes advantage of technology and is a cost-effective approach to providing executive assistance to churches.
My new assistant's name is Betsy Burgis. Already her efficiency, professionalism, and love for the local church is evident. Betsy has the added challenge of helping me stay connected and "in the loop" while I spend a lot of time in NYC with Beth ... and it is working great.
Betsy's Contact information:
Email: betsy@rockbridge.cc
Office: 706-279-3175 (Rock Bridge central office)
Direct line: 706-489-9226
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Weekly Rundown (12.12.2010)
- Today's message was exciting and challenging for me to prepare and share as we learned about the judgment that awaits us at the 2nd Coming ... we are judged by how we respond to God's grace (I Corinthians 3:10-15). It's amazing when you think about how much grace God gives us every day that we miss, ignore, or take for granted.
- The greatest example of God's grace is His gift of His Son, Jesus Christ given to us!!
- Next week we will wrap up "Christmas: The Sequel" will a look at the new heaven & new earth. And I'm getting excited about the series for the new year ...
- There is so much "God" stuff going on around Rock Bridge right now ... and it's not just the typical attendance, offering, and baptism numbers ... it is that stuff AND MORE --
- We prayed and worshipped as a church for 24 straight hours ... the presence of God was so real!
- Our Calhoun campus is getting ready to move into a permanent facility ... renovation is underway!
- Momentum in our small groups is growing and building as we seek to "make disciples".
- Our sacrificial and generous giving through Less is More was incredible. So excited to our church trust & honor God with money.
- This week alone we sent money to help train church planters in Iraq, to get Bibles to believers in Burma, to help fund church planting in America, and to resource several local missions agencies that will help needy persons this Christmas season.
- I'm thanking God for our staff who is doing an amazing job leading our church right now. I'm learning all kinds of new tools to help me stay involved and connected while in NYC with Beth -- FaceTime, Evernote, AwesomeNote, email, etc.
- I got to spend a few hours with our boys this week and they are as amazing as ever. They are so resilient. Eyasu understands that "Mommy is sick and in New York getting better."
- We got this text one of our nieces: "Eyasu just told us that 'My mommy & daddy are my best friends.'" :)
- Update on Beth: She is still going through several tests in preparation for transplant. They found a cyst on her spleen Friday. We hope to know Monday if it is anything serious or will need to be removed which could delay transplant. We are praying BIG time that the transplant goes as scheduled.
- Prayer requests:
- For the cyst on Beth's spleen to not be a problem or obstacle for transplant.
- For Beth's counts to go up ... no transfusions prior to transplant is our specific request.
- For our friends Edwin & John.
- For the hope we have in Jesus Christ to be real to us and to seen through us!
- Prayer requests:
- Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! We'll be in NYC ... hoping for our first white Christmas :)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
News from NYC (12.9.2010)
Yesterday we learned that Beth's MDS has progressed further into leukemia (AML). The treatment plan is basically the same except for some changes in the radiation-chemotherapy regimen she will undergo prior to transplant.
Beth will be admitted into the hospital on December 21st, radiation on the 22nd, and chemotherapy for the next several days.
The transplant should occur on or around December 28th.
We are entering into a crucial phase in our fight and we continue to appreciate all the prayers and support!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Latest on Beth (12.4.2010)
We are starting to feel like a broken record but we must THANK YOU for your prayers, frequent flyer miles, gifts, etc. etc. that continue to bless us and to strengthen our spirits and hope.
The past week Beth spent a lot of time at the hospital. She had another bone marrow biopsy, received what is known as an IVIg injection (infection fighting antibodies), and went through a heart and lung test (everything looks great!!).
On Friday, we received word that one of the donors said "YES!" and is ready to give the marrow to Beth. We may never know who this person is but we are extremely grateful!! This means Beth will be admitted to the hospital on December 17th to begin transplant preparation which includes about a week of chemotherapy-radiation. The donor is scheduled to give her (we do know the donor is female) on December 27th which means Beth's transplant will begin within 48 hours.
Next week she has a dental exam. This appears to be only possible obstacle to the transplant schedule. Beth's wisdom teeth & gum area is swollen and painful (not healing due to low blood counts). If the dentist thinks the wisdom teeth have to come out, then the transplant would be delayed for about a week (assuming the donor agrees to the delay).
Prayers:
The past week Beth spent a lot of time at the hospital. She had another bone marrow biopsy, received what is known as an IVIg injection (infection fighting antibodies), and went through a heart and lung test (everything looks great!!).
On Friday, we received word that one of the donors said "YES!" and is ready to give the marrow to Beth. We may never know who this person is but we are extremely grateful!! This means Beth will be admitted to the hospital on December 17th to begin transplant preparation which includes about a week of chemotherapy-radiation. The donor is scheduled to give her (we do know the donor is female) on December 27th which means Beth's transplant will begin within 48 hours.
Next week she has a dental exam. This appears to be only possible obstacle to the transplant schedule. Beth's wisdom teeth & gum area is swollen and painful (not healing due to low blood counts). If the dentist thinks the wisdom teeth have to come out, then the transplant would be delayed for about a week (assuming the donor agrees to the delay).
Prayers:
- For COMPLETE healing ... miraculous and God-glorifying.
- For Beth to stay infection-free and her white & platelet count to increase.
- For no "wisdom teeth" delays.
- For our friend, Edwin, who just received a transplant last week.
- For our friend, John, who is recovering from Fanconi-related head & neck cancer.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
My Open Letter to Rock Bridge
The past few weeks have been some of the toughest of my life as we learned about Beth's diagnosis of MDS and now move toward a bone marrow transplant in NYC. Part of the difficulty is that Beth has had to temporarily give up her calling into vocational ministry. As a couple who share this call to ministry and a deep love for God's church, we have always lived with the tension that exists between our marriage, our ministry, and our children. For eight years we have sought to maintain a healthy, albeit delicate balance between these areas of our life. Often the balance tilted toward ministry and the church we started together ... and we understood that as part of the calling, part of the joy, part of the challenge, and part of the privilege of full-time, vocational ministry.
However, for the foreseeable future we must tilt that balance the other direction to our family and fighting (and beating!) MDS. For Beth it means a long period of medical leave from ministry. For me it means my ministry at Rock Bridge will be limited as I serve and support Beth during this time. While I will still be the Lead Pastor and preach as much as possible, I will not be as involved in pastoral care, leading our staff, or executing our vision as I normally am. The great news is we have a tremendous staff, a clear vision, Elders who are servant-leaders, and a God who is committed to building His church!!
For portions of Beth's time and treatment in NYC, I will be spending most days with her and a few days each week at home (lots of flying in my future!). There will be other times when I will need to be with Beth for several weeks in a row. All of this is subject to change as we learn about the details of Beth's treatment and how she responds. Our boys will mostly stay at our house with their uncle and aunt or their grandparents.
During this period I will be teaching "live" less and we will be using "video" teaching more often in the Wink Theatre (Dalton Campus). I will also be reducing the number of times I preach (I typically teach 45-48 times per year and would expect that number to drop to 36-42 times over the next 12 months). Alfred Turley, our Executive Pastor, will be overseeing and leading our church on a daily and weekly basis. Our Student Ministry staff is a strong team with a good plan and solid vision. Our Elders will still be the "guardians" of our vision and resources while serving as the "discerners" who help navigate our church to fulfill our mission and glorify Christ.
I mentioned a few weeks ago during a "church chat" that I was more excited about God's work through Rock Bridge now than at any other time in our history ... I still am! Our church's renewed commitment to fulfill and obey God's Great Commission through increased missions giving and going, greater dependence on His Holy Spirit through intentional prayer, and planting more small groups is exciting and God-honoring.
Even though our roles at Rock Bridge are necessarily changing for the time being and our primary focus has shifted to Beth's healing, our hearts and our prayers are with the church we love so much. We still believe God works miracles. We still believe He will do more than we ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:20-21). We still are amazed at His grace. And we still believe the church is the hope of the world!!
Matt
However, for the foreseeable future we must tilt that balance the other direction to our family and fighting (and beating!) MDS. For Beth it means a long period of medical leave from ministry. For me it means my ministry at Rock Bridge will be limited as I serve and support Beth during this time. While I will still be the Lead Pastor and preach as much as possible, I will not be as involved in pastoral care, leading our staff, or executing our vision as I normally am. The great news is we have a tremendous staff, a clear vision, Elders who are servant-leaders, and a God who is committed to building His church!!
For portions of Beth's time and treatment in NYC, I will be spending most days with her and a few days each week at home (lots of flying in my future!). There will be other times when I will need to be with Beth for several weeks in a row. All of this is subject to change as we learn about the details of Beth's treatment and how she responds. Our boys will mostly stay at our house with their uncle and aunt or their grandparents.
During this period I will be teaching "live" less and we will be using "video" teaching more often in the Wink Theatre (Dalton Campus). I will also be reducing the number of times I preach (I typically teach 45-48 times per year and would expect that number to drop to 36-42 times over the next 12 months). Alfred Turley, our Executive Pastor, will be overseeing and leading our church on a daily and weekly basis. Our Student Ministry staff is a strong team with a good plan and solid vision. Our Elders will still be the "guardians" of our vision and resources while serving as the "discerners" who help navigate our church to fulfill our mission and glorify Christ.
I mentioned a few weeks ago during a "church chat" that I was more excited about God's work through Rock Bridge now than at any other time in our history ... I still am! Our church's renewed commitment to fulfill and obey God's Great Commission through increased missions giving and going, greater dependence on His Holy Spirit through intentional prayer, and planting more small groups is exciting and God-honoring.
Even though our roles at Rock Bridge are necessarily changing for the time being and our primary focus has shifted to Beth's healing, our hearts and our prayers are with the church we love so much. We still believe God works miracles. We still believe He will do more than we ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:20-21). We still are amazed at His grace. And we still believe the church is the hope of the world!!
Matt
Monday, November 29, 2010
How to Make a "Spiritual" Financial Decision
This weekend our church will give in a unified matter beyond the regular tithe and offering, a practice we see frequently in the Scriptures. We're calling this our "Less is More" offering. This is a great opportunity to make a financial decision that honors God. This does not have to be a scary process or a "pin the tail on the donkey" type experience either. God loves a cheerful and intentional giver, and this offering should be both.
1) Fight the fight against unbelief. God wants to be our provider, not money. To overcome fear in the financial realm, we must believe that "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus". [Philippians 4:19] It is very hard to make a faith-based decision when fear is rampant. God's character of love is the antidote for fear.
2) Resolve to give generously. Don't come up with something "off the top" of your head or just what you can spare. Giving generously requires you to pray, to plan, and to prepare. The definition of generosity applies to each person and family differently. However, the example and standard of generosity is the same: Christ on the cross (2 Cor. 8:9).
3) Evaluate needs vs. wants. Special offerings and other giving opportunities give us the chance to identify poor spending habits, unwise stewardship, and perhaps even areas of greed. Where these things surface, be honest and when necessary, repent.
4) Read scriptures about generosity and pray for the "eyes" to see the amount God wants you to give. Fill your mind with biblical thoughts about giving. Ask God to help you see the amount. Here are some common ways I think God often "shows" us the amount He wants us to give:
5) Ask: Does this amount require me/us to trust God? God wants you to trust Him. By trusting His heart which is full of love, mercy, & grace for His children our gift honors God as our Lord and provider.
I'm excited about this weekend as we seek to excel in the grace of giving!! (2 Cor. 8:7)
1) Fight the fight against unbelief. God wants to be our provider, not money. To overcome fear in the financial realm, we must believe that "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus". [Philippians 4:19] It is very hard to make a faith-based decision when fear is rampant. God's character of love is the antidote for fear.
2) Resolve to give generously. Don't come up with something "off the top" of your head or just what you can spare. Giving generously requires you to pray, to plan, and to prepare. The definition of generosity applies to each person and family differently. However, the example and standard of generosity is the same: Christ on the cross (2 Cor. 8:9).
3) Evaluate needs vs. wants. Special offerings and other giving opportunities give us the chance to identify poor spending habits, unwise stewardship, and perhaps even areas of greed. Where these things surface, be honest and when necessary, repent.
4) Read scriptures about generosity and pray for the "eyes" to see the amount God wants you to give. Fill your mind with biblical thoughts about giving. Ask God to help you see the amount. Here are some common ways I think God often "shows" us the amount He wants us to give:
- An expected blessing (A raise or higher than expected bonus; a lower than expected bill; etc.)
- A prompting to do something that normally would not even be an option (One time God prompted Beth & I to give our entire life savings!)
- Special unity with your spouse (I cannot overestimate the importance of this!!)
5) Ask: Does this amount require me/us to trust God? God wants you to trust Him. By trusting His heart which is full of love, mercy, & grace for His children our gift honors God as our Lord and provider.
I'm excited about this weekend as we seek to excel in the grace of giving!! (2 Cor. 8:7)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
24 Hours of Prayer
Our 24 straight hours of prayer and worship is THIS Wednesday & Thursday, 6 pm to 6 pm in Stage 123. How we need what only God can provide!! How Satan quakes at united, corporate prayer! How God longs to hear His children call out to Him! Let's give God no rest for 24 hours ...
One of the most important prayers we can pray right now is: Lord, make us hungry to pray! And then as we pray ...
One of the most important prayers we can pray right now is: Lord, make us hungry to pray! And then as we pray ...
- We will know His power
- Unbelievers will be converted
- Sinful habits will be broken
- Families and marriages will be restored
- Boldness for Christ will increase
- Hardened hearts will become tender and sensitive to God
- Prodigals will return home
- Giving will be joyful and generous
- The sick will be healed
- Worship will be intense and passionate
- AND, CHRIST WILL BE GLORIFIED!!!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Headed to the Big Apple!
Beth's white blood cell and platelet counts dropped again today which puts her at greater risk of infection and bleeding. So we spoke with Dr. Boulad tonight and he wants us to move Beth to New York where she can be directly under his care during this "interim" period before transplant.
This means a sooner-than-expected transition to the Big Apple for Beth and an earlier temporary "goodbye" for her and the boys. However, this eliminates a lot of risks and puts Beth in the safest place before the transplant occurs.
Beth will not return home until after transplant and recovery. We expect to be in New York the first of the week. She will be in NYC until healed :)
Prayer requests:
This means a sooner-than-expected transition to the Big Apple for Beth and an earlier temporary "goodbye" for her and the boys. However, this eliminates a lot of risks and puts Beth in the safest place before the transplant occurs.
Beth will not return home until after transplant and recovery. We expect to be in New York the first of the week. She will be in NYC until healed :)
Prayer requests:
- Beth's white cell and platelet count to increase
- Beth to stay infection free
- Safe travel to NYC
- Smooth transition & adjustment for our boys, Eyasu & Abreham
- The donor match process to move forward quickly
- For Dr. Boulad and his team of transplanters
- For God to be glorified and Beth to be COMPLETELY healed by a miracle or the miracle of medicine!!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Miracles and Medicine: an update
As I write this update on Beth, we are still overwhelmed and blessed by your prayers, encouragement, and support. Thank you!
We strongly believe in God's power to heal -- by miracle and by medicine. And while we are desperately and persistently praying for the former, we have to prepare for the latter. We know God gives the victory; how He does so is up to Him (Proverbs 21:31). The uncertainty and waiting are tough and often God gives only enough grace for one day -- today. So here is we are as of today:
We strongly believe in God's power to heal -- by miracle and by medicine. And while we are desperately and persistently praying for the former, we have to prepare for the latter. We know God gives the victory; how He does so is up to Him (Proverbs 21:31). The uncertainty and waiting are tough and often God gives only enough grace for one day -- today. So here is we are as of today:
- Physically Beth's white blood counts (infection fighting) and platelet counts (clotting; healing) are low. Both counts have dropped even further this week (this is our most immediate concern). She has to eat a low microbial diet and take other precautions (like lots of hand washing, house cleaning, etc.) to guard against infection.
- Pray for her counts to stabilize and increase as well as her to be protected from infection.
- While we know that Beth has MDS, we do not know how quickly it is progressing. The nature of FA makes this whole thing more complicated. We have another bone marrow biopsy next week and the doctors are acting like it is progressing quickly.
- Pray for this biopsy to be pain-free for Beth.
- Pray for this biopsy to show RADICAL and COMPLETE healing, only explained by the Hand of God!!
- She has been matched with 3-4 would-be donors who are all "10 out of 10" matches -- GREAT NEWS!! Now one of these individuals must agree to additional testing and then the actual transplant. If this goes as planned, the transplant process could begin in 3-4 weeks ... more potential great news!!
- Pray for the matched donors to say "Yes!" and for the transplant to occur as soon as possible.
- Thank God for those who are willing to be bone marrow donors! Their decision really is a "LIFE GIVING" one!
- Our doctor, Dr. Boulad of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC, continues to be an answer to prayer. His compassion, expertise, and "hands on" approach to medicine gives us a lot of confidence and comfort.
- Pray for Dr. Boulad and for God to continue to use him daily and if necessary to eventually heal Beth through the miracle of bone marrow transplant!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Weekly Rundown (11.21.2010)
- Started our end of times series, Christmas: The Sequel ... today. My hope and prayer is that this series is less about "information" and more about the application of believing that Jesus is coming back!!
- Next week we discuss the antichrist!
- Loving that people are reading the Bible DAILY during our 40 Days focus.
- Praying for the Less is More offering on Dec. 2nd & 5th.
- 24 straight hours of prayer is coming ... 6 pm to 6 pm, Dec. 1-2 in Stage 123 for all campuses.
- I want to thank all the staff and volunteers that are keeping our Student Ministry running strong while Beth is on medical leave. This ministry has a strong vision and great people serving, discipling, and reaching students.
- Harper, Kent, Kurt, Ben, and Daniel -- THANK YOU!
- Please keep praying for Beth: for miracles, for protection from any infection, for the donor process, for doctors, and for Beth's blood counts to increase.
- Hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Update from NYC
First of all we want to thank you so much for your prayers, love, and support. They have lifted us up and increased our confidence in our awesome God.
Today we met with Dr. Boulad, a pediatric oncologist who also specializes in adults with Fanconi Anemia. He confirmed Beth's diagnosis of MDS. He outlined our treatment plan:
Prayer Requests:
Today we met with Dr. Boulad, a pediatric oncologist who also specializes in adults with Fanconi Anemia. He confirmed Beth's diagnosis of MDS. He outlined our treatment plan:
- We fly home tomorrow :)
- Because of the risk of infection (Beth's white count is very low), she must remain at home and relatively isolated.
- Beth has another bone marrow biopsy in 2-3 weeks to determine the rate of MDS progression.
- We are moving to have a bone marrow transplant in 6-8 weeks.
- The donor search starts now.
- Once Beth is matched with a donor, the transplant process will begin.
- This process will require Beth to be in the hospital here in NYC for 2 months and remain in the New York area for 4-6 additional months to be closely monitored.
Prayer Requests:
- For God to be glorified in ALL of this!!
- For miraculous healing!! That the biopsy in 2 weeks comes back NORMAL!!!
- For Beth to stay free from infections.
- For Edwin who is an FA patient who started the transplant process today ... pray for his healing.
- For John, another FA patient fighting mouth & throat cancer ... for healing & recovery.
- We were blessed to meet both John & Edwin today and pray with them and their families.
- For the donor match process to go quickly and smoothly.
- We can only be matched with someone already on the registry.
- Many people have asked about being a bone marrow donor for Beth. While this is not possible, you can still become a donor and help save someone else's life. Go to BetheMatch.org to find out more information.
- For our families.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Weekly Rundown (11.14.2010)
- Great to be at our Calhoun campus today preaching the vision to step out, step up, and step together into the building opportunity we have!! Excited to see God move :)
- We start CHRISTMAS: THE SEQUEL next week!! Don't forget to invite a guest to church with you as we discuss the 2nd Coming of Christ.
- Some great momentum in our small groups right now as we are hoping to launch lots of new groups between now and the new year.
- Small groups are crucial to how we "make disciples" at Rock Bridge which is one of the non-negotiables Jesus gave us to do (Matthew 28:19-20).
- Small groups have unlimited potential: no need for expensive buildings, just people; they are simple, reproducible, and biblical (Jesus and the first churches used small groups).
- Beth & I head to NYC on Monday for a doctor's visit that will tell us exactly what we are facing and what the next steps are. We should be home on Wednesday.
- Thanks so much for your prayers. We will update with more specific requests as we get them.
- Right now we are praying first and foremost for God to be glorified; for miraculous healing; for Beth to stay free from any infections, viruses, or sicknesses; for opportunities to share our hope in Christ with others we meet on our journey facing similar battles but without the "hope that does not disappoint."
- Have a great week!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Prayers Mean So Much!!
The emails, texts, Facebook messages, etc. etc. MEAN SO MUCH!! YOUR PRAYERS MEAN SO MUCH. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!!! We wanted to share one such email/prayer from a friend --
Just saw your blog; wow, the warfare is on.............a pastor's wife at a church here in {xxxx} has cancer in her jaw and involves radical amputation. Interestingly enough, my daughter found my wife unconscious in the bathroom early one morning, this week, and gave us a scare. Pastor of a church plant that is 5 years old, out in the country in {xxxx} County has a brain tumor and progressively going down fast.
Here's a word for you guys that is in my heart this morning: My heart is bothered by this news about Beth, but not burdened. This trial is to take you guys higher, holier, and more healthy that you already are. It will cause so many who love you both, to drop down to their knees, weep, groan to God, and for the first time, experience a fellowship with our King.
Be encouraged..............It will be fine! You win! ... God is getting ready to take Rock Bridge and your lives to the next level. I know it's health here, but it's also warfare. You can't progress and attack hell without resistance...........you are getting it. Praise can be the greatest weapon in this battle. It works!
"Lord Jesus, we bind and attack fear and anxiety right now in Matt and Beth. We give you our minds because it all begins right here. According to the psalmist, 'you have answered us.' Do it again. Give us the desires of our heart, but you are also sovereign and we give you our voiced liberty to do what you will. Father, Matt and those boys need Beth......your local body needs Beth. If you've ever worked mightily on our behalf, do it now. Do it now..........we pray for wisdom, for favor, for mercy, save some grace for us, and we plead the blood of Jesus Christ over Beth for the miraculous. I pray explosion that is unexplainable happen in worship tomorrow for Rock Bridge. We give you glory! Father, for the answer, we ask all of this in Jesus' name." -Amen
Just saw your blog; wow, the warfare is on.............a pastor's wife at a church here in {xxxx} has cancer in her jaw and involves radical amputation. Interestingly enough, my daughter found my wife unconscious in the bathroom early one morning, this week, and gave us a scare. Pastor of a church plant that is 5 years old, out in the country in {xxxx} County has a brain tumor and progressively going down fast.
Here's a word for you guys that is in my heart this morning: My heart is bothered by this news about Beth, but not burdened. This trial is to take you guys higher, holier, and more healthy that you already are. It will cause so many who love you both, to drop down to their knees, weep, groan to God, and for the first time, experience a fellowship with our King.
Be encouraged..............It will be fine! You win! ... God is getting ready to take Rock Bridge and your lives to the next level. I know it's health here, but it's also warfare. You can't progress and attack hell without resistance...........you are getting it. Praise can be the greatest weapon in this battle. It works!
"Lord Jesus, we bind and attack fear and anxiety right now in Matt and Beth. We give you our minds because it all begins right here. According to the psalmist, 'you have answered us.' Do it again. Give us the desires of our heart, but you are also sovereign and we give you our voiced liberty to do what you will. Father, Matt and those boys need Beth......your local body needs Beth. If you've ever worked mightily on our behalf, do it now. Do it now..........we pray for wisdom, for favor, for mercy, save some grace for us, and we plead the blood of Jesus Christ over Beth for the miraculous. I pray explosion that is unexplainable happen in worship tomorrow for Rock Bridge. We give you glory! Father, for the answer, we ask all of this in Jesus' name." -Amen
Friday, November 12, 2010
What We Are Facing
Several weeks ago Beth's blood counts (white cells and platelets) started dropping. This trend continued and prompted our doctors to order a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy this week.
Today we received the news we did not want to hear: Beth's bone marrow is in a state medically known as "MDS" or preleukemia. Obviously, this is very serious and we are now facing a major battle.
Our next step is to travel to New York City where we already have a relationship with an amazing doctor to begin the steps for Beth to receive a bone marrow transplant.
At this point there are no guarantees or certainties, except that this is very tough, hard to accept, and hard to understand ... but God is our hope and strength ... and we are committing this for His glory.
Until we know more details, all we can ask you to do is to pray.
Today we received the news we did not want to hear: Beth's bone marrow is in a state medically known as "MDS" or preleukemia. Obviously, this is very serious and we are now facing a major battle.
Our next step is to travel to New York City where we already have a relationship with an amazing doctor to begin the steps for Beth to receive a bone marrow transplant.
At this point there are no guarantees or certainties, except that this is very tough, hard to accept, and hard to understand ... but God is our hope and strength ... and we are committing this for His glory.
Until we know more details, all we can ask you to do is to pray.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Weekly Rundown (11.7.2010)
- Final message (Part 9!!) of FOLLOW ME this weekend!! What a series!!
- Today's main point: Motivation to radically (and sacrificially) follow Jesus comes from the promise of reward. What is the reward? More of Christ now, and all of Him later! He is our superior Savior, treasure, and satisfaction!!
- Praying this verse over our church!!
- To all who asked for prayer this weekend -- know that your church is praying for you and with you!!
- New series, CHRISTMAS: THE SEQUEL, about the 2nd Coming of Jesus, starts in 2 weeks -- start inviting a friend to join you in church!!
- Abreham is officially walking now. This weekend he "officially" walked down the hall and into the bathroom while his brother was doing "#1" ... and proceeded to stick his hands into the toilet!! Our lives have changed once again :)
- I think we're putting the kids in daycare/school tomorrow for DATE DAY :)
- Lots of continued interest in mission trips. Please submit an application if you are interested.
- I love our church! I love what God is doing in our church!
- Have a great week!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Bonus Feature to Follow Me (Part 3): Giving & Tithing
{Bonus Feature blog posts: Part 1 and Part 2}
I'm so excited to hear how so many of us are wrestling with what it really means to follow Jesus and aligning ourselves with God's revealed truth. An area of constant struggle is giving, tithing, and money in general. For this bonus feature (stuff that did not make the sermon) we'll discuss tithing, special offerings, giving to the church vs. giving through other channels.
Tithing is the biblical practice to give the first 10% of one's income to the Lord through the church. In the OT this money was used to support the Levites who were the priests and who worked in the Temple (and therefore could not farm). Some people argue that is not a New Testament command or practice; however, the biblical evidence supports the notion of not just a tithe but grace-based, radically generous giving for Christians.
Based on these scriptural truths, here is where I think the safest place to land biblical on the issue of tithing:
The following has proven helpful to me (this is from Andy Stanley) when thinking about giving:
I'm so excited to hear how so many of us are wrestling with what it really means to follow Jesus and aligning ourselves with God's revealed truth. An area of constant struggle is giving, tithing, and money in general. For this bonus feature (stuff that did not make the sermon) we'll discuss tithing, special offerings, giving to the church vs. giving through other channels.
Tithing is the biblical practice to give the first 10% of one's income to the Lord through the church. In the OT this money was used to support the Levites who were the priests and who worked in the Temple (and therefore could not farm). Some people argue that is not a New Testament command or practice; however, the biblical evidence supports the notion of not just a tithe but grace-based, radically generous giving for Christians.
- Actually in the Old Testament a Jew would end up giving around 25% of there income to God's work: the 10% for the Levites/Temple plus additional offerings to pay for the festivals and offerings to help the poor and aliens.
- The tithe started BEFORE the law was given in Exodus. The first tithe was given by Abraham to a priest in Genesis.
- Jesus actually mentioned that tithes should be given but not in a "legalistic" spirit. (Matthew 23:23)
- Special offerings were a part of the New Testament church (see 2 Cor. 8-9). We also see people on their own giving generous gifts for the church leadership to distribute (see Acts 4:34-35).
- I Cor. 16:1-2 encourages giving on the first day of the week in relation to (in proportion to) one's income. This indicates some type of "percentage" based giving.
- Jesus never lowered an OT standard but raised the standard and encouraged people to keep the spirit of the law. For example, no longer was adultery defined as just sex with someone other than your spouse, but Jesus said lust in your heart was also adultery. He went on to say hatred for someone was akin to murder. Paul seemed to apply this principle to giving when he commended churches for giving "more than [they] were able."
Based on these scriptural truths, here is where I think the safest place to land biblical on the issue of tithing:
- Tithing (10%) to your local church is the starting point for Christian giving. It is clear scripturally that the local church is the primary (but not the only) "collection" point for funding God's work.
- Christians must constantly look for ways to be generous and sacrificial with the monies God has given them. This could take "giving" well beyond 10%. This could also mean some money is given to individuals, families, or organizations besides the local church.
- Church members should participate in special offerings (above and beyond their regular giving) when the church unites to give sacrificially (see 2 Cor. 8-9).
- The "spirit" of the tithe principle is to trust God financially and be generous. We must constantly look at how much we make and how much we give, asking "Am I trusting God or money?" and "Am I being generous based on God's grace to me?"
The following has proven helpful to me (this is from Andy Stanley) when thinking about giving:
- PRIORITY GIVING: give first right when you get paid to the church and other Christ-centered causes. This indicates that God is first in your finances and invites Him (through obedience) into your financial matters.
- PERCENTAGE GIVING: this helps make our giving consistent and intentional. Again 10% is a good place to start and a reference point.
- PROGRESSIVE GIVING: we should seek to grow in giving like we grow in Bible knowledge or Christian understanding or as we grow as a spouse or parent.
- PROMPTED GIVING: God will prompt you to give as opportunities arise. We should expect this, be prepared for it, and count it as a joy to be able to do so. We can't foresee when our friends might need something or our church has special burden to do something more for Christ or when a disaster strikes and Christians need to respond. The Holy Spirit will lead us to give in spontaneous ways.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Next 40 Days ...
This past weekend as a church we suggested some significant steps for our folks to take over the next 40 days. Steps of alignment behind our Lord Jesus; steps of persistence that will hopefully form some new spiritual habits; and steps of faith that will honor God and fill us with more of His presence.
1) Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. Over the next 40 days we're just challenging ourselves to read God's Word to learn more about Jesus and how we are to follow Him. {This averages out to reading about 3-4 chapters per day.}
2) Pray and fast in a bold, new way. We have the 24/7 prayer option online AND the 24:00 prayer service on Dec. 1-2. We are will seek to fast from something (food, internet, Facebook, TV, etc.) on Wednesday, Dec. 1st. The bottom line: just commit to praying more and praying with greater boldness for God to show up in your life!
3) Sacrifice and invest your money for the Gospel and glory of Christ. As a church we are taking up a special offering on Dec. 2nd/5th. Portions of this offering will go to campus needs and another portion to missions. However, there are many other ways to take this step. Just pray and ask God for direction about where to give AND how much!
4) Spend an hour together as a family/couple with God. We are very intentional about helping our kids be better students and athletes. Many of us take regular "date nights" to invest in our marriages. However, how intentional are we about growing as family closer to Christ? How much time is spent on "training" our children to go the Lord's way?
5) Do intentional and consistent disciple-making. Invite people to church; share Christ with someone; get in a small group or go on a global mission trip. Just be intentional about sharing the love and truth of Jesus Christ!!
6) Share what happens. Just talk about the next 40 days in your family, with your small group, or on your campus Facebook page.
1) Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. Over the next 40 days we're just challenging ourselves to read God's Word to learn more about Jesus and how we are to follow Him. {This averages out to reading about 3-4 chapters per day.}
2) Pray and fast in a bold, new way. We have the 24/7 prayer option online AND the 24:00 prayer service on Dec. 1-2. We are will seek to fast from something (food, internet, Facebook, TV, etc.) on Wednesday, Dec. 1st. The bottom line: just commit to praying more and praying with greater boldness for God to show up in your life!
3) Sacrifice and invest your money for the Gospel and glory of Christ. As a church we are taking up a special offering on Dec. 2nd/5th. Portions of this offering will go to campus needs and another portion to missions. However, there are many other ways to take this step. Just pray and ask God for direction about where to give AND how much!
4) Spend an hour together as a family/couple with God. We are very intentional about helping our kids be better students and athletes. Many of us take regular "date nights" to invest in our marriages. However, how intentional are we about growing as family closer to Christ? How much time is spent on "training" our children to go the Lord's way?
- Every week our Children's Ministry sends something home to parents to help reinforce the lesson and use for family devotionals. You can use this as a tool to teach your children about the Bible and Jesus.
- In Student Ministry, our web site contains information for parents about each week's topic and the "devotional" activity your teenager is asked to do on their own. Click here for more details.
5) Do intentional and consistent disciple-making. Invite people to church; share Christ with someone; get in a small group or go on a global mission trip. Just be intentional about sharing the love and truth of Jesus Christ!!
- The Story is a great way to share Christ with others!
- On November 18/21 we start a new series on the end of times. This is a VERY popular topic and a GREAT TIME to invite someone to church with you!!
- For more on small groups -- groups@rockbridge.cc
- Global Mission Trips
6) Share what happens. Just talk about the next 40 days in your family, with your small group, or on your campus Facebook page.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Weekly Rundown (10.31.2010)
- Very excited about the next 40 days in our church: reading through the Gospels & Acts together, 24 hours of solid prayer & worship, and a special offering. God is honored by our commitments and persistence ... let's keep the faith!!
- Final message to the Follow Me series is next weekend!!
- We start a new series on the end of times November 18/21 ... great opportunity to bring a guest to church!
- Worked on outlining our message series through Memorial Day 2011.
- Lots of talk and interest in taking a mission trip. Exciting to see a new commitment to global missions emerging in our church!
- The FIRST step to going on a global trip: complete and turn-in your application
- Hoping to learn dates for Bolivia and Ethiopia trips by mid-November.
- First Halloween with the boys -- Eyasu wanted to be a horse "with a tail"; Abreham was "Nemo" [the fish from the movie I've now seen 74 times!] ... thanks K-Mart for putting all your Halloween stuff on sale this weekend -- the one time procrastination has paid off :)
- Have a great week!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Church Chats: Your Questions
We're in the middle of our "church chats" at all our campuses. The response has been great and the questions are excellent. Here are some of the questions we've gotten with a brief answers:
Less is More & Giving:
Can I pledge and contribute to "Less is More" if I am still contributing to the Next Step? Are these the same funds?
The Next Step (Dalton Campus expansion) officially ends in December. The Less is More offering is the close out offering for Next Step AND the start-up offering for our increased missions giving. So they are the same funds.
Small Groups:
How do we want new small groups to form?
New groups can start when a leader(s) emerges from an existing group or from within our church membership. A small group may wish to send some of its members to go with the new leader(s) and help launch the group. However, the main need is for leader-facilitators who want to start new groups.
Is there any upcoming small group training for current/new group leaders?
The exact details are still being worked out by our new Groups Pastor, Brian Holt (brian@rockbridge.cc). However, if you are ready to start a new group one-on-one training is available immediately.
How should a small group start serving together locally?
The first step is for your group to begin praying and discussing how God is leading your group. If the group feels led to construction or children or homelessness, then our Small Group staff can then help facilitate a connection to a person and/or partner organization that matches the "heart" of your group. Our desire is to "release" and empower our groups to serve "on mission" in our communities.
Missions:
How much of the 2011 Missions budget goes to local and global causes?
Global-39%; Local-28%; National/Church Planting-10%; Disaster Relief-6%; Trips=14%; Admin/misc-3%
How long are the mission trips?
On average the trips will be from 6-10 days: Honduras (digging wells) & Haiti are 6-7 days; Bolivia is 6-8 days; Ukraine is 8 days; Ethiopia will be 7-10 days
How does Rock Bridge select our local & global mission partners?
Once a potential partner is identified (by a church member or through general awareness) we start examining to see if that partner is a good fit for Rock Bridge. Usually this involves some type of "interview". We look for partners that have a system of financial accountability, a Gospel-focus, and are well-organized. A team of people (staff, elders, church members, etc.) makes the final determination about our partners.
Less is More & Giving:
Can I pledge and contribute to "Less is More" if I am still contributing to the Next Step? Are these the same funds?
The Next Step (Dalton Campus expansion) officially ends in December. The Less is More offering is the close out offering for Next Step AND the start-up offering for our increased missions giving. So they are the same funds.
Small Groups:
How do we want new small groups to form?
New groups can start when a leader(s) emerges from an existing group or from within our church membership. A small group may wish to send some of its members to go with the new leader(s) and help launch the group. However, the main need is for leader-facilitators who want to start new groups.
Is there any upcoming small group training for current/new group leaders?
The exact details are still being worked out by our new Groups Pastor, Brian Holt (brian@rockbridge.cc). However, if you are ready to start a new group one-on-one training is available immediately.
How should a small group start serving together locally?
The first step is for your group to begin praying and discussing how God is leading your group. If the group feels led to construction or children or homelessness, then our Small Group staff can then help facilitate a connection to a person and/or partner organization that matches the "heart" of your group. Our desire is to "release" and empower our groups to serve "on mission" in our communities.
Missions:
How much of the 2011 Missions budget goes to local and global causes?
Global-39%; Local-28%; National/Church Planting-10%; Disaster Relief-6%; Trips=14%; Admin/misc-3%
How long are the mission trips?
On average the trips will be from 6-10 days: Honduras (digging wells) & Haiti are 6-7 days; Bolivia is 6-8 days; Ukraine is 8 days; Ethiopia will be 7-10 days
How does Rock Bridge select our local & global mission partners?
Once a potential partner is identified (by a church member or through general awareness) we start examining to see if that partner is a good fit for Rock Bridge. Usually this involves some type of "interview". We look for partners that have a system of financial accountability, a Gospel-focus, and are well-organized. A team of people (staff, elders, church members, etc.) makes the final determination about our partners.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Bonus Feature to Follow Me (Part 2): Local vs. Global
{You can read Part 1 of the Follow Me bonus feature blog here.}
In Follow Me to the World we talked about God calls us to be "on mission" locally AND globally. Sometimes we feel torn between meeting needs right around us with the needs around the world. As a result, the scope of missions becomes a debate (or preference) between local missions OR global missions.
The Bible never meant for this to be an issue. Instead of an "either/or" option, the Bible is clear that missions is a "both/and" command--
Because we live in NW Georgia, we still feel burdened for our communities and desire to see needs met and Christ glorified here. Again, our choice is not local OR global, but BOTH local AND global. We have talked in great detail about our international missions expansion; here's how we are seeking to expand our local missions impact:
To God be the glory!
In Follow Me to the World we talked about God calls us to be "on mission" locally AND globally. Sometimes we feel torn between meeting needs right around us with the needs around the world. As a result, the scope of missions becomes a debate (or preference) between local missions OR global missions.
The Bible never meant for this to be an issue. Instead of an "either/or" option, the Bible is clear that missions is a "both/and" command--
- Acts 1:8 teaches us the principle of the geographic expansion of missions.
- 2 Cor. 8-9 shows us the practice of a New Testament church doing more than local missions as the churches in Corinth gave to the church in Jerusalem.
- Matthew 28:19-20 shows us Jesus' heart is for all the nations & commands us to "go" without geographic limitations.
- Psalm 67 assures us of God's favor & blessing when we desire to make Him known and seek to bring Him glory to the ends of the earth.
Because we live in NW Georgia, we still feel burdened for our communities and desire to see needs met and Christ glorified here. Again, our choice is not local OR global, but BOTH local AND global. We have talked in great detail about our international missions expansion; here's how we are seeking to expand our local missions impact:
- In 2011, the amount of missions dollars invested locally is set to almost triple!!
- We are working through our small groups to serve in the local community several times a year. (Currently, we have several groups already doing this; imagine if all or nearly all of our groups start doing this intentionally over the course of one year!! This greatly expands our investment of time in the area of local missions.)
- We will continue doing monthly local mission drives (similar to the blanket drive going on during October).
- We will continue taking a "loose change" offering at First Wednesday services. 100% of this offering goes to local mission causes/partners.
To God be the glory!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Follow Me Bonus Feature: People Who Never Hear
In every message or series there are always things that cannot be covered in great detail. One subject that I am hearing a lot of "chatter" about is the issue of people who never hear about Jesus. We have taught in this series that people who do not hear about Jesus are not innocent and thus will experience eternity apart from God. Here is a detailed explanation of this biblical fact.
All people have knowledge of God and still reject God.
This means that there are NO INNOCENT people in the world. Whether we have knowledge of Jesus' existence or not, we are ALL still eternally sick with sin. Therefore, the person who has never heard about Jesus is STILL guilty for his/her sins. Romans 3:10 clearly states that no one is righteous. But the Bible also states that people do have knowledge of God and that they reject this knowledge. Romans 1:18-20 is the key verse explaining this and ends with the very clear statement that "men are without excuse." Not hearing about Jesus does not make a sinner innocent. We are without excuse and in need of salvation -- all of us.
God has made a way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
The Bible is clear that only because of God's merciful provision of His Son Jesus do any of us have any hope. There are 2 important considerations here and both should drive us to our knees in humble worship:
1) God did not have to save anyone and that would have been fair and just and right. Why? We are ALL hopelessly sinful. I think it is dishonoring to God to question the method or exclusivity of Jesus Christ as if God owes us salvation or should let us determine how salvation should be offered. Salvation cost Jesus His life! God is more than fair and His mercy is incomprehensible. We should worship Him, not question Him. And if we are really concerned about justice and salvation for people, we should give our time, our money, and our efforts to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ locally and globally as God commands.
2) God's ways are higher and better than our ways. In discussing the "Jesus is the only way" topic, many people start saying that is not fair or not right. That means we are putting ourselves above God and allowing our limited, finite, and fallible perspectives to trump God. Who is the highest authority in our lives -- us or God? Our viewpoint or the Scriptures? Do we not believe that God is the ultimate definition and decider of what is "right"? Do we not believe that God is God? When God has provided His Son to make a way for salvation, do we really want to have a "fairness" debate with God?!?
Sometimes I fear this entire discussion reveals that we do not take God's right to be God seriously and/or we lessen the urgency and importance of sharing Christ with people. Interestingly, these 2 things are mentioned in Romans. Romans 1:23 says we will reject the true God for false images that look like us or like created things. In other words, we make ourselves our God!! Romans 10:14 states that if we do not preach Jesus then people will not hear and thus not be saved. Therefore, we must resist any temptation to make ourselves into the final authority about matters of salvation and to make the Great Commission optional.
What about young children who die?
I think the Bible is actually pretty clear on this point as well.
First, according to Romans 1 people must have the capacity for God to be "known" and to be made "plain" so that the existence of God can be "understood" (see Romans 1:19-20). Therefore, this implies that young children and people with certain mental handicaps would be excluded from God's wrath and somehow covered by Christ's atonement.
Second, when King David's son died shortly after he was born, David's words tell us that that child went to be with the Lord: "...now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." {2 Samuel 12:23}. David believes that when he dies, he "will go to" be with his son who now is with God.
All people have knowledge of God and still reject God.
This means that there are NO INNOCENT people in the world. Whether we have knowledge of Jesus' existence or not, we are ALL still eternally sick with sin. Therefore, the person who has never heard about Jesus is STILL guilty for his/her sins. Romans 3:10 clearly states that no one is righteous. But the Bible also states that people do have knowledge of God and that they reject this knowledge. Romans 1:18-20 is the key verse explaining this and ends with the very clear statement that "men are without excuse." Not hearing about Jesus does not make a sinner innocent. We are without excuse and in need of salvation -- all of us.
God has made a way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
The Bible is clear that only because of God's merciful provision of His Son Jesus do any of us have any hope. There are 2 important considerations here and both should drive us to our knees in humble worship:
1) God did not have to save anyone and that would have been fair and just and right. Why? We are ALL hopelessly sinful. I think it is dishonoring to God to question the method or exclusivity of Jesus Christ as if God owes us salvation or should let us determine how salvation should be offered. Salvation cost Jesus His life! God is more than fair and His mercy is incomprehensible. We should worship Him, not question Him. And if we are really concerned about justice and salvation for people, we should give our time, our money, and our efforts to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ locally and globally as God commands.
2) God's ways are higher and better than our ways. In discussing the "Jesus is the only way" topic, many people start saying that is not fair or not right. That means we are putting ourselves above God and allowing our limited, finite, and fallible perspectives to trump God. Who is the highest authority in our lives -- us or God? Our viewpoint or the Scriptures? Do we not believe that God is the ultimate definition and decider of what is "right"? Do we not believe that God is God? When God has provided His Son to make a way for salvation, do we really want to have a "fairness" debate with God?!?
Sometimes I fear this entire discussion reveals that we do not take God's right to be God seriously and/or we lessen the urgency and importance of sharing Christ with people. Interestingly, these 2 things are mentioned in Romans. Romans 1:23 says we will reject the true God for false images that look like us or like created things. In other words, we make ourselves our God!! Romans 10:14 states that if we do not preach Jesus then people will not hear and thus not be saved. Therefore, we must resist any temptation to make ourselves into the final authority about matters of salvation and to make the Great Commission optional.
What about young children who die?
I think the Bible is actually pretty clear on this point as well.
First, according to Romans 1 people must have the capacity for God to be "known" and to be made "plain" so that the existence of God can be "understood" (see Romans 1:19-20). Therefore, this implies that young children and people with certain mental handicaps would be excluded from God's wrath and somehow covered by Christ's atonement.
Second, when King David's son died shortly after he was born, David's words tell us that that child went to be with the Lord: "...now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." {2 Samuel 12:23}. David believes that when he dies, he "will go to" be with his son who now is with God.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Weekly Rundown (10.24.2010)
- Great staff retreat this week ... more unified than ever! Very blessed to serve with our team!!
- Calhoun Campus voted today to move into a permanent lease facility--100% in favor!!!!
- Church chats are underway at all campuses.
- Definitely a deeper work of the Holy Spirit going on in our church right now. We are really striving to follow the Jesus of the Bible in a bold, radical, and fresh way!!
- Mark your calendars: 24 hours of prayer Dec. 1-2. Starting at 6 pm in Dalton Stage 123. Come pray anytime as we give God no rest as we pursue Him like never before (Isaiah 62:6-7).
- Mission trips: if you are interested in a trip please turn in an application to start the process. We've have a lot of interest so far.
- I took Eyasu to get shots on Friday ... wow! I was scared watching that big needle get jabbed deep into his little thigh. It was awful because I had to help hold him down as he cried. Must be something like how God feels when He allows pain into our life temporarily knowing that ultimately it is for our good.
- Have a great week!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Weekly Rundown (10.17.2010)
- What a week!!
- Church chats start ... please take this opportunity to learn more about our church's mission and ask questions!
- Dalton: THIS Wednesday Oct. 20th (6 pm; Wink Theatre; child care and dinner available) is the first chat; 3 more: click here for details
- Chatworth: Nov. 1st: (First National Bank of Chatworth community center)
- Calhoun: Wednesday, Oct. 27th (6 pm; Calhoun Campus offices; child care/dinner provided) is the first chat; click here for the other scheduled chats
- We unveiled much our new missions strategy this weekend ... I'm so pumped!
- More information:
- About missions in general: Rock Bridge web site -- under Ministries tab--click on "Missions"
- Trip applications: click here
- Email questions to missions@rockbridge.cc
- Doubling our missions giving in 2011!
- Small groups serving locally across NW Georgia 4+ times a year.
- Significant Great Commission work locally, nationally, and globally:
- North America
- United States: church planting
- Haiti: Church rebuilding, food distribution, relational evangelism
- South/Central America
- Bolivia: Child Survivorship Program (see Compassion International web site)
- Honduras: digging 2 wells; 2 mission trips
- Africa
- Zimbabwe: helping AID/HIV orphans
- Kenya: medical mission
- Ethiopia: Missionary support & church partnership
- Asia
- India: Supporting local/indigenous missionaries to spread the Gospel and plant churches
- Europe
- Ukraine: church planting
- Middle East
- Arab-Jew reconciliation (medical focus)
- North America
- More information:
- Our first staff retreat in over 2 years starts tomorrow. Great time planned just to be/become a team ... praying John 17 and Romans 12 over our staff.
- Staff retreat will be the first time BOTH Beth & I have been away from our children overnight ... ??
- Next weekend: FOLLOW ME -Part 7: Mark 12:41-43
Monday, October 11, 2010
Less is More: Church Chats
{The date(s) for our Chatsworth & Calhoun campuses are TBD.}
We are in the middle of an exciting time in the history of Rock Bridge. In Calhoun we have seen more salvations than any other time and we are on the verge of perhaps moving into a long-term building lease to give us a permanent presence in Gordon County. In Chatsworth we are less than one year old and already seeing faith in Christ reinvigorated and lives being changed. In Dalton we are wrapping up our 3-year campus expansion campaign this winter.
Together at all our campuses we are learning to redefine Christianity away from culture and tradition and align ourselves with the God of the Bible through the Follow Me series. We'll be taking a special Less is More offering in December as we seek to double our missions giving in 2011 and expand our efforts to fulfill the Great Commission locally and globally. We'll be taking more short-term mission trips, planting more small groups, and increasing prayer like never before in our church. All of this is born from our desire to glorify Christ as we rely on the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples.
We want everyone in our church to be aligned and committed to these new initiatives as we move forward so we have scheduled several church "chats". We'll be explaining our vision and direction in more detail, answering your questions, and praying together. You can plan to attend one of these chats with your small group (talk to your group) or at a time that best fits your schedule. Below are the dates and times for the Dalton Campus (Calhoun & Chatsworth are TBD):
Wednesday, Oct. 20th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Wednesday, Oct. 27th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Wednesday, Nov. 10th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Sunday, Nov. 14th (after the 11:00 service) in the Wink Theatre
We are in the middle of an exciting time in the history of Rock Bridge. In Calhoun we have seen more salvations than any other time and we are on the verge of perhaps moving into a long-term building lease to give us a permanent presence in Gordon County. In Chatsworth we are less than one year old and already seeing faith in Christ reinvigorated and lives being changed. In Dalton we are wrapping up our 3-year campus expansion campaign this winter.
Together at all our campuses we are learning to redefine Christianity away from culture and tradition and align ourselves with the God of the Bible through the Follow Me series. We'll be taking a special Less is More offering in December as we seek to double our missions giving in 2011 and expand our efforts to fulfill the Great Commission locally and globally. We'll be taking more short-term mission trips, planting more small groups, and increasing prayer like never before in our church. All of this is born from our desire to glorify Christ as we rely on the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples.
We want everyone in our church to be aligned and committed to these new initiatives as we move forward so we have scheduled several church "chats". We'll be explaining our vision and direction in more detail, answering your questions, and praying together. You can plan to attend one of these chats with your small group (talk to your group) or at a time that best fits your schedule. Below are the dates and times for the Dalton Campus (Calhoun & Chatsworth are TBD):
Wednesday, Oct. 20th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Wednesday, Oct. 27th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Wednesday, Nov. 10th at 6:00 pm in the Wink Theatre
Sunday, Nov. 14th (after the 11:00 service) in the Wink Theatre
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Weekly Rundown (10.3.2010)
- From my heart: God is stretching and challenging me (and I think our whole church) in a big time way. I've learned that these are some of the richest and most meaningful times in my walk with God ... high mileage for Him to work. And the best part is ... we can't IMAGINE what He has in store!!
- Today's Message:
- God is exclusive about HOW we are brought into His family (through Christ alone); but inclusive about WHO.
- Hopefully, we will all marvel at His mercy for even providing a way to be made right with Him and then ponder how we should live as those who know that Christ is the way, the truth and the life!!
- Go the FUEL web page for daily devotionals based on this past week's message.
- Scripture for next week's message: John 4:25-42
- My football teams: n/a (Just kiddin' still love Navy & UGA!!)
- First Wednesday this week -- Dalton & Calhoun campuses.
- Sign-up for 24/7 Prayer -- Click here!
- Have a great week!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Fullness of the Holy Spirit
Every Tuesday our staff spends extended time in prayer together. This week we focused on being "full of the Holy Spirit" as we recognize more than anything else we need a greater manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our families, our church, our ministries, and our community. Below is the prayer guide we used.
“The work of God is not by might of men or by the power of men but by His Spirit. The philosophies of men fail, but the Word of God in the demonstration of the Spirit prevails. The resources of the church are in the “supply of the Spirit” [Phil. 1:19 KJV]. It is for the church to explore the resources of the Spirit; the resources of the world are futile.” {Samuel Chadwick}
Obtaining the Fullness of the Holy Spirit [Ephesians 5:18b]
REPENT
If we want to know the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must live a life of repentance. As soon as conviction comes, repent. Turn from sin and find forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Christ.
As soon as people cry out for a filling of the Spirit, there will be immediate conviction of sin. People will be convicted of breaking God’s laws and also of spiritual apathy that has left them weak and powerless.
Several godly individuals have used questions like the ones below to help identify areas of repentance:
Questions to “examine” ourselves:
BELIEVE
We must believe in the truth of God’s Word to understand that apart from Him we can do nothing. We must believe that He has promised us Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit so that we can experience Him and His power in our lives.
DESPERATELY ASK
We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). If God were to respond in proportion to your asking, would He sense your desperate need for the Holy Spirit? Would He conclude that you could not live without His life in you? Would He be convinced by your persistence in prayer that you want to live a Spirit-filled life (Luke 11:1-13)?
“The work of God is not by might of men or by the power of men but by His Spirit. The philosophies of men fail, but the Word of God in the demonstration of the Spirit prevails. The resources of the church are in the “supply of the Spirit” [Phil. 1:19 KJV]. It is for the church to explore the resources of the Spirit; the resources of the world are futile.” {Samuel Chadwick}
Obtaining the Fullness of the Holy Spirit [Ephesians 5:18b]
REPENT
If we want to know the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must live a life of repentance. As soon as conviction comes, repent. Turn from sin and find forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Christ.
As soon as people cry out for a filling of the Spirit, there will be immediate conviction of sin. People will be convicted of breaking God’s laws and also of spiritual apathy that has left them weak and powerless.
Several godly individuals have used questions like the ones below to help identify areas of repentance:
Questions to “examine” ourselves:
- Am I slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
- Am I enjoying prayer and Bible study?
- Do I pray about the money I spend?
- Do I insist on doing anything about which my conscience is uneasy?
- How do I spend my spare time?
- Am I defeated in any part of my life?
- Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
- Do I grumble and complain?
- Have you exposed yourself to any questionable material (entertainment choices, time with opposite sex other than your spouse, etc.)?
- Are you holding anything back from God that you need to surrender?
- Is there anything dampening your zeal for Christ?
BELIEVE
We must believe in the truth of God’s Word to understand that apart from Him we can do nothing. We must believe that He has promised us Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit so that we can experience Him and His power in our lives.
DESPERATELY ASK
We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). If God were to respond in proportion to your asking, would He sense your desperate need for the Holy Spirit? Would He conclude that you could not live without His life in you? Would He be convinced by your persistence in prayer that you want to live a Spirit-filled life (Luke 11:1-13)?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Weekly Rundown (9.26.2010)
- Follow Me-Part 2: The fullness of the Holy Spirit is so "undertaught" and "underrealized" in churches and Christians. I am praying today's truth really grips us as a church and we take the time to claim and seek the promise from Luke 11:13.
- Seek the Holy Spirit in prayer. Ask for "fullness" with passion and persistence. Believe there is no substitute or short cut other than God's gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Sign-up for 24-7 prayer initiative. Make it a point to come to First Wednesdays to seek God together with our church family. Take prayer seriously, believing what prayer can really accomplish.
- Believe that through the Holy Spirit you can pray prayers that get answered, serve God with effectiveness, get rid of habitual sin, be the spouse/parent God wants you to be ... we cannot live like God's Word is not true.
- Next week's message: One of the more controversial aspects of following Jesus, but essential to understand. Scripture is Luke 13:22-30.
- Please know that this series is one of the most important and fundamental set of messages and is part of an expanded vision for our church. If you miss a message, get a CD or listen/watch online!
- What's going on?
- Lots of prayer for more of God!! We desperately need and want more of the Holy Spirit!!!
- Working on our church's 2011 budget. Very excited about the faith and vision found in the initial drafts. We will be challenged and stretched, AND God will be glorified.
- All new staff should be in place by mid-October.
- In Calhoun: continuing to work through the building opportunity.
- Less is More: our December special offering is coming up. Please pray and plan now about how God wants you to participate!!
- My prayers right now:
- For healing and restoration in some marriages.
- Isaiah 64:1-4 -- for God to "rend" (open) the heavens and manifest Himself more at RBCC; for God to do "awesome things" we did not expect; for us to wait on Him in prayer.
- For some specific people who are on the mission field overseas or about to go overseas
- For someone that needs to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- For the spirit of mammon ('more') to be broken and the spirit of religion/tradition to be defeated and for people to passionately, radically and unconditionally follow the Jesus of the Bible!
- My life right now:
- Abreham is trying to/wanting to walk ... he is getting so frustrated!
- Eyasu is like a sponge! Having to watch my example before him ever so closely.
- Struggling being a 'Dawg fan!
- Learning more and more what is means to be "full of the Spirit"!!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
More Staffing Announcements
Our season of replacing & repositioning staff members appears to drawing to a close for now. Been a crazy 6 months where many staff have had to do 2-3 jobs as we awaited new hires and prayed for God's guidance. God has been faithful and we are excited to have our FULL team now in place.
John David Boreing is our new Technical Director: John David will handle all things AVL (audio, video, & lighting) for our church at all campuses. He is coming in from Columbia, TN with his wife and son. Great process of prayer & multiple interviews that finally brought John David to Rock Bridge. Our team is pumped! He starts in early October (and then Brian Holt will move into the role of leading our Small Groups ministry).
Bridgette Harris is our new Chatsworth Children's Minister: She will be replacing Anna Holt. We really appreciate Anna getting this ministry off to a great start at our newest campus. Bridgette has been a great volunteer and we are excited for her to join our team in Chatsworth.
Daniel Kiser is our new Chatsworth Student Minister: Our plan in Chatsworth was to add a part-time Student Minister at about the 6-month anniversary of Chatsworth's launch. Grateful for Daniel's passion and heart ... and looking forward to how God will use him!!
Future hires? Right now we are prayerfully discussing the need to add staff in the areas of local & global missions. We are in the middle of drafting a 2011 budget so all discussions are preliminary and we don't yet know how or when this will take shape. However, we are ramping up how Rock Bridge obeys the Great Commission locally and globally. We believe this "fuller" level of obedience will require adding staff to oversee our missions strategy and efforts.
John David Boreing is our new Technical Director: John David will handle all things AVL (audio, video, & lighting) for our church at all campuses. He is coming in from Columbia, TN with his wife and son. Great process of prayer & multiple interviews that finally brought John David to Rock Bridge. Our team is pumped! He starts in early October (and then Brian Holt will move into the role of leading our Small Groups ministry).
Bridgette Harris is our new Chatsworth Children's Minister: She will be replacing Anna Holt. We really appreciate Anna getting this ministry off to a great start at our newest campus. Bridgette has been a great volunteer and we are excited for her to join our team in Chatsworth.
Daniel Kiser is our new Chatsworth Student Minister: Our plan in Chatsworth was to add a part-time Student Minister at about the 6-month anniversary of Chatsworth's launch. Grateful for Daniel's passion and heart ... and looking forward to how God will use him!!
Future hires? Right now we are prayerfully discussing the need to add staff in the areas of local & global missions. We are in the middle of drafting a 2011 budget so all discussions are preliminary and we don't yet know how or when this will take shape. However, we are ramping up how Rock Bridge obeys the Great Commission locally and globally. We believe this "fuller" level of obedience will require adding staff to oversee our missions strategy and efforts.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Weekly Rundown (9.19.2010)
- From my heart: I really believe our church is on the verge of a greater manifestation of God. All I sense from God is to seek Him but wait for Him. Please pray with me for our church to walk in step with God, glorify Christ, and depend radically on the Holy Spirit. Please pray God's Word is honored like never before.
- New on Staff:
- We hired Ben Honeycutt as a new part-time worship leader. Ben will be leading mostly in our student ministry but will lead occasionally during our adult weekend services.
- We hired Kent Boyd (part-time) as our Student Production & Outreach leader. Kent was in our FIRST youth group.
- We hired Jarred Owens as our new IT Director.
- Crazy but all of the above hires were replacement hires (We did split one full-time job into 2 part-time jobs)! Had several folks resign, move, etc over the summer and are just now filling their vacated positions. I am thanking God for faithfully providing these individuals so quickly. They have all hit the ground running!!
- Celebrating & thanking Him:
- For the 3rd straight year we have been named one of America's Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches!! We are #46 ... wow! But church is so much more than just the number of people attending ... how many are we sending? How many disciples are we making? Is God being glorified?
- Baptism today was incredible ... God's grace, life change, God's glory ... does not get much better!!
- Seeing our Calhoun Student Minister, Kurt Kessler, baptize his son was awesome!
- Story after story of life change (overcoming pain, addiction, religion/legalism, etc.) ... wow!!
- It never gets old to hear people proclaim Jesus as their Lord!!
- Missions: We continue to pursue local and global opportunities to partner and proclaim Christ. I am so excited to learn of God's work that is occurring everywhere and in the most unlikely of places!
- Good meeting this week with church planters in the greater Chattanooga area.
- Hearing some interest about Rock Bridge going into Ringgold??!!??
- Had a conversation this about Rock Bridge helping plant churches by equipping potential church leaders in IRAQ!!
- Great discussion about incredible work in Whitfield County called, City of Refuge. We might come alongside a few other churches to help meet real needs in our community.
- We are continuing to press forward with doubling our missions budget/giving in 2011. We are committed to investing this kingdom money in the wisest and most strategic ways possible.
- These Scriptures are guiding my prayers regarding missions right now:
- Preaching:
- Follow Me: Part 2 -- I love preaching about the purpose, power, and potential of Christ's church!! Especially convicting is the thought that we have made the church more about our comfort than Jesus' cross. Especially exciting is that the church holds the "keys" to help reveal Christ to the world!!
- Next week: Part 3 -- I was personally "rocked" during my preparation for this message. It is changing my Christian walk. We'll be talking about a subject that can be easily misunderstood and is seemingly hard to apply. The scripture for next week is John 14:12-27.
- What's going on?
- Many of us continue to challenged by David Platt's book Radical. You can get a copy in the lobby space of any of our worship venues.
- Preparing to unveil new opportunities to pray through a 24-7 prayer initiative.
- Pondering and praying about other ways to increase prayer in and through our church.
- Our new Technical Director has been hired. We can't announce anything yet until he has had a chance to talk with his current church ... but we are pumped!! This means Brian Holt will be moving into the Groups Pastor role in a few weeks.
- We need to multiply, reproduce, & plant NEW small groups!! We need to see a major breakthrough in this area.
- Exciting to hear our new Children's Minister, Allen Bishop, share more of his thoughts and vision. Exciting possibilities on the horizon as we seek to enhance/improve an already amazing ministry in our church!!
- Calhoun Campus is looking intently about leasing a building!! God has been really manifesting Himself in that campus ... several salvations and "God-stories"!!
- Asking this question a lot: Is there anything we are doing that is good, but keeping us from what is best?
- PLEASE let us know if you have questions -- email justask@rockbridge.cc or my personal email is matt@rockbridge.cc.
- My life:
- Love my family and being a dad!
- Had to have my first (but definitely not last), "I made a mistake as your dad" conversation with Eyasu this week. He understood and I think (?) he forgave me. Being a father helps me see my sinfulness from another angle and gives me even more motivation to seek God's grace!
- Georgia football ... ugh! Go Navy!!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Weekly Rundown (9.12.2010)
- Really pumped and excited to kick-off FOLLOW ME today!! I think this series has been "brewing" inside of me for quiet some time as I myself have wrestled with several things that are pretty clear for us in God's Word.
- Today's two big questions: Who is Jesus? How do I follow Him?
- These questions will guide us through the rest of this series.
- Our "endzone" or where we want to be at the end: Matthew 28:19-20
- Some of the books that have helped me get ready for this series:
- Radical by David Platt
- The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision
- Exponential by David and Jon Ferguson
- Fresh Power and The Church God Blesses both by Jim Cymbala
- Really making good progress on our overall "missions" strategy for Rock Bridge. I can't wait to see how it all comes together for God's glory. Below are some of our partners/potential partners and links to their web sites:
- Compassion International (likely partner)
- E3 Partners (potential partner)
- MVI (Haiti: Ed Lockett)
- Samaritan's Purse: World Medical Mission (Kenya: Dr. Rhett Shirley)
- Shevet Achim (Middle East: Donna Petrel)
- Living Water International (Haiti; Honduras)
- Baptism celebration is next week!!
- We are really working to make prayer more intentional, focused, and organized throughout our church. Be looking for more information or you can email Alfred (alfred@rockbridge.cc).
- Celebrated Abreham's 1st birthday!! He loved his cupcake!!
- Have a great week!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Just Ask!!
A few months we conducted an online survey to give us a sense of how our church was doing. One of the highest negative marks toward Rock Bridge was in the area of communications about how decisions are made, why we do (or don't do) certain things, or just how to get questions answered. We definitely do not want people to be confused, frustrated, or to even have to guess about our church's mission, vision, and operations.
We want to do better and are committed to taking steps to remedy this. This is why we have created a NEW email address: justask@rockbridge.cc.
Just email your question (which will be seen by a minister) and you'll get an answer in a few days. If we get several questions that are related, I'll answer the question in a blog post.
Thanks for the feedback and we hope this simple step will make a big difference!!
We want to do better and are committed to taking steps to remedy this. This is why we have created a NEW email address: justask@rockbridge.cc.
Just email your question (which will be seen by a minister) and you'll get an answer in a few days. If we get several questions that are related, I'll answer the question in a blog post.
Thanks for the feedback and we hope this simple step will make a big difference!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Missions Monday: Things I'm Learning
I've been on a process of discovery lately seeking to learn more about the global status of Christianity and discern how God wants Rock Bridge to be part of His kingdom work to the ends of the earth. Here's a summary of what I am learning so far:
- The most evangelized countries (USA; Canada; Europe; Australia) are not giving much money and resources to the least-evangelized countries.
- A U.S. dollar can do a lot more in Africa, India, & South America than it can in America.
- A lot people (children mostly) die everyday from preventable causes and the "world" barely notices.
- Christianity is growing very rapidly in a grass roots type of way in unexpected places like Afghanistan, China, and Ethiopia.
- The Bible does not give us the option to "opt out" of global missions. We are commanded to "go" to the ends of the earth (I had to repent when I was confronted with that truth!).
- We can feed people food and give people water but if we do not share Christ and His Gospel then our "mission" is incomplete.
- About 25% of the world's population lacks any real knowledge of Jesus Christ.
- Prayer is the most important strategy for missions and world evangelism.
- Generous giving is a critical component.
- I am convicted: are we praying and giving to advance the Gospel?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Weekly Rundown (9.5.2010)
- Finished with LIES OF THE DEVIL this weekend. New series starts next week: FOLLOW ME.
- I really believe this new series will be an epic one for our church. We are going to examine what it really means to be a Christ-follower. I am praying hard that we all see Christ more clearly so we can follow Him more closely!! These are great opportunities to understand exactly what it means to follow Christ and live for Him. Please pray!!
- Having several exciting conversations about missions opportunities before our church. Getting a more "global" perspective of Christianity has been an incredible learning process for me.
- Remember in 2011 we will seek to DOUBLE our budgeted missions giving!! This is a big step of faith-based generosity but one I am confident God is calling us to take as we seek to do our part to both demonstrate and declare the Gospel locally, regionally/nationally, and globally.
- Great First Wednesday service this week!
- Our Calhoun Campus is prayerfully working and preparing to move into a long-term lease at the old Piggly Wiggly location on Highway 41. I am so pumped about this opportunity!! Building decisions are so much more than money, bricks and mortar. It is an intense spiritual process of seeking God on many different fronts. There are multiple decisions to make and details to work out but the ball is rolling and we are praying.
- Dawgs looked good in the opener. Next week (@ South Carolina) we'll know more ...
- This week was my last week doing Football Friday for awhile. I've done it for 4+ years straight now but being a dad comes first and it is hard to be out so late on Friday night when my kids get up so early (with so much energy) on Saturday!! Seriously, that show has been a great way for me to be involved with something I love (high school football and young people) and try to represent Christ and our church in a different setting. I am grateful to have had the opportunity.
- Have a great week!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Weekly Rundown (8.29.2010)
- Always exciting to share the Gospel as we did in all of our weekend services ... trusting its power to save and produce radical disciples!!
- Baptism on September 19th!!
- First Wednesday this week ... we'll be hearing from one of our missions partners about the global orphan crisis.
- Great conversation this week about potential missions partnership with Compassion International.
- We were also able to help the flooding in Pakistan from our missions giving!! (See this blog post.)
- Loving the spiritual energy in our church right now!!! I think it could only grow as we continue to pray and deepen our commitment to be THE church Christ created and represent Him on this earth.
- High school football is back! College football starts this week :)
- Have a great week!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Pakistan Flooding: Our Response
The devastating floods in Pakistan have dominated world news and it should burden our hearts as Christ-followers.Isaiah 58:6-8
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."
As we attempt to gain and reflect the heart of God into the world, these tragedies become opportunities for the Gospel to advance. Because of your generous giving, we are able to seize this opportunity and help meet real needs ... both physical and spiritual during this tragedy.
Rock Bridge will be contributing to Samaritan's Purse which is a strong Christian agency that is currently working with 6 churches in 6 affected regions in Pakistan. These churches will be able to minister to 2000 families. {To learn more click here.}
Your giving back to God enables God's love for all peoples and nations to be declared and demonstrated!!
Let God be glorified by our generosity. Let His name be declared to the ends of the earth!!
Let us pray for Pakistan!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Straight-up Gospel THIS Weekend!!
As part of our series LIES OF THE DEVIL, this weekend we will be defeating the lies Satan tells us about salvation and eternal life and sharing how to know for sure you are in God's eternal family.
THIS IS A GREAT WEEKEND TO BRING A GUEST TO CHURCH WHO NEEDS TO KNOW JESUS!!!
Here are some of my prayers:
For the power of the Gospel to accomplish salvation.
Romans 1:16 -- I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
I Cor. 2:2-5 -- For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
For Christ to be seen clearly so He is received personally and glorified mightily!!
Acts 26:18 -- to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
THIS IS A GREAT WEEKEND TO BRING A GUEST TO CHURCH WHO NEEDS TO KNOW JESUS!!!
Here are some of my prayers:
For the power of the Gospel to accomplish salvation.
Romans 1:16 -- I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
I Cor. 2:2-5 -- For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
For Christ to be seen clearly so He is received personally and glorified mightily!!
Acts 26:18 -- to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Weekly Rundown (8.22.2010)
- Our new website is launched and looking good. Still working through some pages and links but we're pumped about it.
- Check out the "Missions" section to see how we are currently handling missions in our church.
- Also, look at the new 24-7 Prayer section!!
- Really sense a strong presence of God in our services lately ... humbling but exciting.
- NEXT WEEKEND we will plainly and clearly share about how to have a personal, saving, and eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. INVITE/BRING A GUEST!!! Some areas we'll cover:
- How Satan tries to give us false assurance about ourselves and our eternity.
- How to know that you are really a Christian.
- We continue to hear amazing stories of how people are using the FUEL devotional that we handout to everyone attending our services. If you want to start your own personal Bible study, this is a GREAT place to begin!!
- Please keep praying about what God is revealing to us during this series:
- What "less is more" decision will you make? How will you spend less on yourself and more on God/others?
- Remember the special offering in December ... pray, plan, and prepare now!!
- What "excuses" do you need to eliminate so you can start executing God's plans for your life?
- Are you being a "teacher"? Is Christianity spreading through you or stopping with you?
- Are you looking for an explanation from God or a revelation of God? His revelation is far better!!!!!
- What "less is more" decision will you make? How will you spend less on yourself and more on God/others?
- Eyasu is talking our head off, repeating almost everything we say, asking questions ... crazy how fast he has learned English and how much he understands!!
- Praying BIG for God's glory this week ... join me!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
My Prayers for Rock Bridge: August 2010
I've been saddened by how my prayers lack persistence which probably shows I lack the "desire" or the passion for what I am asking. God promises to give us what we ask when our desires are real and for His glory. So help me pray persistently for things that glorify God. Here are my current (not comprehensive) prayers for our church:
- For the spirit of mammon ("more" stuff) to be broken and a spirit of generosity unleashed
- For an unprecedented special offering in December
- Doubling our missions giving in 2011.
- For our people to take a risk in God's direction
- For the # of adults small groups in our church to double (~200)
- For several people in our church to become missionaries in another country
- For us to have an incredible baptism celebration with lots of changed lives and eternities on Sept. 19th
- For our church to make disciples (=people who follow Jesus; standby for next message series!) who make disciples.
Monday, August 9, 2010
New Children's Minister!!
We are excited to announce that our new Children's Minister is Allen Bishop. Allen and his wife, Jennifer, along with their 3 boys, will be joining us from Smyrna, TN (outside of Nashville) around the end of August or first of September. Allen's experience, vision, leadership, and passion for the local church will be tremendous assets to our church and God's work.
He will oversee all of our children's ministry programming in Dalton, Calhoun, & Chatsworth, providing leadership and direction to this ministry and its great staff & volunteers.
Let me add a word of thanks to the search team (2 staff members, 1 Elder, and 4 volunteers in Children's Ministry) who looked at dozens of resumes, interviewed many candidates, and prayed like crazy. We had several very, very strong candidates. Allen was interviewed multiple times on the phone, via Skype (internet video), and in person by our team. He took a personality assessment and completed a written set of questions. I spent several hours with him over a long lunch. We checked references. And God gave all of us tremendous peace and unity; God also spoke to Allen and his wife ... and now we have a new Children's Minister!!!
He will oversee all of our children's ministry programming in Dalton, Calhoun, & Chatsworth, providing leadership and direction to this ministry and its great staff & volunteers.
Let me add a word of thanks to the search team (2 staff members, 1 Elder, and 4 volunteers in Children's Ministry) who looked at dozens of resumes, interviewed many candidates, and prayed like crazy. We had several very, very strong candidates. Allen was interviewed multiple times on the phone, via Skype (internet video), and in person by our team. He took a personality assessment and completed a written set of questions. I spent several hours with him over a long lunch. We checked references. And God gave all of us tremendous peace and unity; God also spoke to Allen and his wife ... and now we have a new Children's Minister!!!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Weekly Rundown (8.8.2010)
- Our new web site is launched ... WOW!!!!!! Go to www.rockbridge.cc
- A Rock Bridge team left for Haiti on Saturday. Please pray for them EVERY DAY this week!!
- Several staff transitions ... crazy but excited about God's plans for those leaving our team and for those joining it!!
- Quick summary of staffing changes:
- Alfred Turley is our new Executive Pastor; Brian Holt will become our new Director of Group Life.
- Details here.
- We are now seeking to hire a new Technical Director.
- Now seeking to hire a person to manage our church database and coordinate our IT/Media administrative work.
- Details and job description here.
- See tomorrow's post for information on the new Children's Minister!!
- Alfred Turley is our new Executive Pastor; Brian Holt will become our new Director of Group Life.
- Quick summary of staffing changes:
- Had a great conversation this week with Chris Marlow from our mission partner, HELP. We partner with them in Zimbabwe to help with orphan care. We are currently supporting 5 children. Excited about the current progress and future possibilities!!
- We finalized the "American" side of Abreham & Eyasu's adoption. Here are their full names:
- Eyasu David Evans -- my dad and Beth's dad are both called "David"
- Abreham Barry Evans -- in honor of Beth's brother who died when Beth was in middle school
- We wanted to keep their "called" name given to them by their birth parents to honor their heritage.
- First non-family babysitter for the kiddos this past Friday night. First time someone other than Beth or myself put them to bed ... they did great!
Have a great week!!!!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
New Job Opening
Recently our office manager/database coordinator, Gail Waters, decided to step down to focus more on helping with our Chatsworth Campus (her husband is Gus, our Campus Pastor). Gail has faithfully served on our staff for 3+ years. Her hard work and "get it done" attitude will be missed but we are excited that she will have more opportunities in Chatsworth to serve God's work there.
As we continue to work through staffing changes, along with staff restructuring (new organizational chart, new job descriptions, new departments), we are ready to announce the following job opening:
IT and Media Coordinator
Summary of Position: Responsible for data entry, website, IT strategies and media services as they relate to the administrative functions of the church in order to connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities
Maintain church data systems including training and assisting others in utilizing data system
· Manage church contacts and follow-up processes
· Responsible for church media services and resource area
· Lead and equip volunteers to serve in resource and IT functions
· Responsible for all information technology relating to administrative functions
· Maintain website to ensure its accuracy with current information
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING
-High school diploma or GED; strong database and computer skills, including web site maintenance; strong people skills, including the ability to recruit and train volunteers
SEND RESUMES to jessica@rockbridge.cc
As we continue to work through staffing changes, along with staff restructuring (new organizational chart, new job descriptions, new departments), we are ready to announce the following job opening:
IT and Media Coordinator
Summary of Position: Responsible for data entry, website, IT strategies and media services as they relate to the administrative functions of the church in order to connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ.
Primary Duties & Responsibilities
Maintain church data systems including training and assisting others in utilizing data system
· Manage church contacts and follow-up processes
· Responsible for church media services and resource area
· Lead and equip volunteers to serve in resource and IT functions
· Responsible for all information technology relating to administrative functions
· Maintain website to ensure its accuracy with current information
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING
-High school diploma or GED; strong database and computer skills, including web site maintenance; strong people skills, including the ability to recruit and train volunteers
SEND RESUMES to jessica@rockbridge.cc
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